“Reason for leaving not clear…”

“Pete Marocco, State Dept official who oversaw dismantling of #USAID has left the agency after less than 3 mos…”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/13/pete-marocco-usaid/

Point is that most of them -the vast majority in fact- consider "American Freedom" to be the #CIA and #USAID coups in every country that doesn't play ball with #US.

So..... I couldn't care less.

Die #Trump Regierung ist unmenschlich. Nicht nur gegenüber Hilfsbedürftigen sondern auch gegenüber den eigenen Helfern.

US-Hilfskräfte während Einsatzes für #ErdbebenOpfer in #Myanmar entlassen
#USAID #Rubio

https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000264461/us-hilfskraefte-waehrend-einsatzes-fuer-erdbebenopfer-in-myanmar-entlassen

Fired USAID worker's wife was twice denied emergency transport home from Bangkok when she developed serious medical problems at 31 weeks of pregnancy. Weeks later, the couple and their newborn are still trying to return to the US.
Peter Morocco, the designated administrator of USAID has removed funds for emergency medical evacuation for USAID workers, deeming it unnecessary.
#usaid

https://www.yahoo.com/news/usaid-workers-pregnant-wife-denied-191528028.html

Make America selfish, cheap, and cruel. 🫤

#US #America #Corruption #Greed #Autocracy #Tyranny #DirtyPoliticians #Dictatorship #KingOfAmerica #Nepotism #Myanmar #MyanmarEarthquake #Aid #USAID

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-state-dept-usaid-team-experts-traveling-myanmar-post-quake-2025-03-31/

Doesn't it sound all too logical, that one of the most corrupt individuals with certain ties to organized crime in U.S. history, would - after having been given administrative power - go & kill public USAID funding for a non-profit NGO like the "Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project", the reporting of which had been tied to the most spectacular international crime stories in decades like the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers & the Russian Laundromat (also see well-aged story in The New Republic)???

Sometimes what appears to be a legitimate state leadership turns out to be rotten organized crime itself.

https://www.salon.com/2025/04/03/corruption-hunters-say-usaid-cuts-just-made-organized-groups-much-more-dangerous/
https://newrepublic.com/article/143586/trumps-russian-laundromat-trump-tower-luxury-high-rises-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate
#RuleOfLaw #TrumpAdmin #USAID #Corruption #CCRP #InvestigativeJournalism #CrimeReporting #Journalism #Trump #Psychopathy #Dementia #OrganizedCrime #CriminalNetwork #Oligarchy #ObstructionOfUSGovernment #ObstructionOfJustice #SuppressionOfTruth #Law #Justice #Democracy #Freedom #USPol #USPolitics #RaiseYourVoice #UnitedInDiversity #StrongerTogether

Via News Eye:

Bad enough that #Trump dismantled #USAID & crippled the support that would have been sent to #Myanmar after its earthquake.

His administration has just slapped a 44% tariff on Myanmar.

Depraved.

https://www.europesays.com/de/1402/ US-Konkurrenten springen ein: Trumps Kahlschlag macht sich auch in Myanmar bemerkbar #China #DonaldTrump #Erdbeben #Headlines #Hilfsprogramme #HumanitäreHilfe #Indien #International #Myanmar #Nachrichten #News #Russland #Schlagzeilen #TopNews #TopMeldungen #TopMeldungen #TopNews #USA #USAID #Welt #World

Nach schwerem Erdbeben: US-Hilfen erreichen Myanmar nur langsam

Leiden auch die Erdbebenopfer in Myanmar leiden unter der USAID-Zerschlagung? Hilfsangebote des einst wichtigen Akteurs USA erreichen das Land nur langsam. Russland und China wollen die Lücke füllen.

➡️ https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/myanmar-erdbeben-usa-hilfe-100.html?at_medium=mastodon&at_campaign=tagesschau.de

#Myanmar #Erdbeben #USA #USAID

I never thought that #usaid cuts could be so far reaching. I didn’t realize that USAID was important for emergency responses like the huge #earthquake in #myanmar.
I heard my friends and former colleagues are safe but the devastation is mind boggling and the need for external aid essential. I am hoping the #eu can help as the US response is too slow. @SolenedeM

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/world/asia/myanmar-earthquake-usaid-cuts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare I’m

US-Außenminister Rubio kündigt komplette Auflösung von USAID an

Die US-Entwicklungshilfe war für Tausende Projekte weltweit verantwortlich - mittlerweile ist sie weitgehend zerschlagen. Nun hat Außenminister Rubio das endgültige Aus von USAID zum 1. Juli bekanntgegeben.

➡️ https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/amerika/usa-usaid-aufloesung-100.html?at_medium=mastodon&at_campaign=tagesschau.de

#USAID #Rubio #Entwicklungshilfe #USA

"Four American soldiers and their vehicle have gone missing during an 'exercise' in eastern #Lithuania, near the #Belarus-ian border.

Search efforts are currently ongoing, with Lithuanian and foreign troops (#NATO exercise troops no doubt... all along the #belarusian border now), along with Air Force and State Border Guard Service helicopters, deployed to locate them."

AP https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/ap-international/ap-4-american-soldiers-are-missing-from-a-training-area-near-lithuanias-capital-the-us-military-says/

RFE/RL, #USAID media (so much for killing their budgets as claimed) https://www.rferl.org/a/us-soldiers-missing-lithuania-belarus/33360885.html

#PapuaNewGuinea blocks #Meta #Facebook. How #USAID going?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-25/facebook-shut-down-in-papua-new-guinea-in-test/105092564

Highly recommend this interview on Novara Media with Matt Kennard of Declassified UK fame!

@Declassified_UK
@DeclassifiedUK

“The British Military is ACTIVELY involved in Gaza. Here’s how”

https://youtu.be/KaooeJzsRU8?feature=shared

“Matt Kennard can speak with authority on all of this. A journalist and author, his work has ranged from how U.S. military recruitment changed during the ‘war on terror’, to the corporate capture of international aid”

#Press #UK #US #Aid #USAID #Gaza #Genocide #Trump #CIA

https://www.europesays.com/1938287/ European allies demand return of $15 million in unspent USAID funds amid Trump, DOGE cuts #DepartmentOfGovernmentEfficiency #DevelopmentPrograms #doge #ElonMusk #ForeignAssistance #Musk #netherlands #norway #sweden #TrumpAdministration #usaid #WE4F

#Capitalism #AntiCapitalism #McDonald #FastFood #Consumerism #Help #USA #USAID #USAD #America #Trump #Musk #Burger #Memes #Meme #Funny #Humor #Laugh

"According to a memo circulating among State Department staff [...], the Trump administration plans to rename the United States Agency for International Development (#USAID) as US International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA), and to bring it directly under the secretary of state. The document, on which Politico first reported, states that as part of its reorganization, the agency will 'leverage blockchain technology' as part of its procurement process."

https://www.wired.com/story/trump-administration-usaid-blockchain/

#Blockchain

Kürzung der US-Hilfen: Mediziner sorgen sich vor Tuberkulose-Ausbreitung

Tuberkulose ist noch immer weltweit verbreitet. Ohne die US-Hilfsgelder sehen Mediziner den Kampf gegen die Infektionskrankheit um bis zu 20 Jahre zurückgeworfen - mit verheerenden Folgen auch für Europa. Von Karin Bensch.

➡️ https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/afrika/nigeria-tuberkulose-us-hilfen-104.html?at_medium=mastodon&at_campaign=tagesschau.de

#Tuberkulose #USAID #Nigeria

This is how KLA mercs got into Haiti

'Paramilitary TERRORIST groups are extremely USEFUL to US statecraft’ – Mike Benz

“#USAID cannot directly provide funding to #terrorists groups, but their CONTRACTORS are not required under the grant agreements to go through those... #counterterrorism financing [rules]… And so this is how you have USAID giving, you know, just last week, $120 MILLION to #ISIS,” (#syria) explained Mike Benz, former Trump State Dept official."
Footage: https://t.me/geopolitics_live/46897

'On March 22, the European Union’s office in Ukraine informed that it would allocate further 10 billion euro to Kiev to finance "independent media." The decision was made amid suspension of USAID programs.'

"Independent media" in the West means a media that is controlled by the West.

European Endowment for Democracy (#EED), which is same shit as #NED (#CIA) but #EU packaging, is also behind of this "independent media" funding.

#USAID

https://tass.com/politics/1932619

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ukraine/eu-boosts-support-independent-media-ukraine-additional-%E2%82%AC10-million_en?s=232

So far this year @ProPublica has reported on who's working for #DOGE, the impacts of cuts on agencies like #USAID, and a lot more. Reporting on abuses of power matters more than ever before.

This is the last day of our spring member drive you can give as a member. As always, I would love the #fediverse to be represented in our member base. It matters.

If you have the means, please consider joining as a member through a gift of any amount: https://give.propublica.org/give/346423/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=ben #journalism

Wednesday, March 19

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the plenary session of Russia Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, March 18, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. Putin spoke prior to his telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Trump-Putin call: Russia agrees to 30-day pause of energy infrastructure strikes. "Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the appropriate command to the Russian military," the Kremlin said.

Kremlin demands halt to foreign military aid**, intelligence to Ukraine as condition for avoiding war escalation.** The Kremlin has demanded a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine as a "key condition for avoiding an escalation of the war," according to a statement released on March 18.

Kyiv supports energy sector ceasefire**, expects military aid to continue, Zelensky says.** "We will support such a proposal, but we're very interested in the details," Zelensky said after the Trump-Putin call.

US announces another round of negotiations in Middle East on war in Ukraine. "This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts," the White House's statement read.

'I don't want us to be on Putin's menu' — Zelensky says negotiations must include Ukraine. "We are an independent state. Without us, I think it's wrong to negotiate," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 18.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today_._

Putin didn't mention military aid in phone call, Trump says. Trump also said it was "a great call" and that the U.S. hopes to expand trade with Russia, including deals on "very big forms of rare earth."

Ukraine withdraws from one front-line sector in Donetsk Oblast, commander says. "This allowed us not only to save our soldiers, but also to improve our defense. (Russia) is suffering losses, and we can act more effectively," Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev said.

Ukrainian forces attempted to enter Belgorod Oblast**, repelled by Russian forces, Russia claims.** The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 18 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to enter Russia's Belgorod Oblast but were repelled by the Russian military.

Zelensky arrives in Finland for official visit to discuss security and strengthen ties. President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Finland for an official visit on March 18. The plane carrying the couple landed at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in the afternoon.

Russian energy giant Gazprom suffers $13.1 billion loss in 2024. Gazprom's losses averaged $251 million per week, $35 million per day, or $1.4 million per hour. While the company's total revenue increased by 11% and its gas revenue by 14%, it still ended the year with a sales loss of 192 billion rubles ($2.3 billion).

Read our exclusives

Meet the Ukrainian fashion brand that's making heritage trendy

Natalia Kamenska had grown tired of a fashion industry she felt was too focused on mass production and commercial interests, rather than creativity. While in the Carpathian mountains, Kamenska encountered a “gunia,” a traditional western Ukrainian shag fur coat that weighs around six kilos (13 pounds).

Photo: Gunia

Learn more




Polish right takes hard line on Ukraine ahead of presidential vote

With the Polish presidential elections just two months away, two of the country's leading right-wing candidates have become increasingly antagonistic toward Ukraine and its leadership. Both men have made headlines by public spats with Ukrainian officials and denounced Kyiv as ungrateful for Polish aid.

Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Learn more




Ukraine war latest: Putin, Trump hold 1.5-hour call, discuss ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a 30-day pause of energy infrastructure strikes during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a readout of the call issued by the Kremlin on March 18.

Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Learn more

Human cost of Russia’s war

2 killed, 13 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 63 of the 137 Russian attack and decoy drones overnight over 12 oblasts, the Air Force said. Sixty-four decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars without causing damage.

General Staff: Russia has lost 897,010 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,560 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

UK reportedly hopes US drones, satellites will help monitor Ukraine ceasefire. The U.S. military has 247 military satellites and thousands of commercial satellites, providing an "unrivaled picture" of eastern Ukraine that European forces would struggle to replicate, the Times wrote.

UK, EU to discuss confiscating Russian assets ahead of Ukraine peace talks, Bloomberg reports. Negotiations will focus on establishing the legal and financial framework to seize Russian assets, despite opposition from some EU member states, particularly Belgium and Germany.

Italy, Spain hesitant on EU's $43 billion military aid to Ukraine plan. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the proposal needed further discussion and that Italy was awaiting the outcome of the upcoming call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump boasts of saving 'surrounded' Ukrainian soldiers despite Kyiv denying encirclement in Kursk Oblast. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on March 17 that he took an unspecified action to save "surrounded" Ukrainian soldiers, apparently referring to his earlier and unsubstantiated claims of Kyiv's troops being encircled in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Trump's aid cuts threaten supply of HIV treatments to Ukraine**, 7 more countries, WHO warns.** The World Health Organization warned that Kenya, Haiti, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Ukraine could run out of critical antiretroviral drugs in the coming months.

Russian negotiator says he expects talks with Musk on space, tech. Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said he expects Russia to hold talks with U.S. billionaire and President Donald Trump's ally, Elon Musk, in the near future, the pro-state news agency RBK reported on March 18.

In other news

Notorious judge dismissed amid accusations of criminal activity, power grab. Judge Pavlo Vovk was held responsible for "committing a significant disciplinary offense, gross or systematic neglect of duties that is incompatible with the status of a judge or revealed his incompatibility with the position he holds."

France to deploy fighter jets with nuclear warheads on German border by 2035, Macron says. France will deploy Rafale fighter jets equipped with supersonic nuclear warheads along its border with Germany in 2035, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 18 at the Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur Airbase, according to BFMTV.

Telegram CEO Durov returns to Dubai amid French investigation. Pavel Durov, Telegram's Russian-born founder and CEO, said that the investigating judges allowed him to depart even though the probe is ongoing.

Poland, Baltics to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty. The defense ministers of the four nations argued that the security situation in the region has "fundamentally deteriorated" and that military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have "significantly increased."

EU approves over $2 billion in economic support for Moldova. The Reform and Growth Facility, which includes 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in low-interest loans and 385 million euros ($420 million) in grants, will cover the period of 2025-2027 and is part of the EU's long-term Moldova Growth Plan.

Ukraine Daily is made possible thanks to support of our readers.

For as little as $5/month you can help us keep going.

SUPPORT US

Your donation is processed by a U.S.-based secure payment system.

We have no access to your bank data.

This newsletter is open for sponsorship. Boost your brand's visibility by reaching thousands of engaged subscribers. Click here for more details.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Tymur Zadorozhnyy, Kateryna Hodunova, Abbey Fenbert, and Olena Goncharova.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program_**. Start supporting independent journalism today.**_

i was mildly encouraged to learn that some of the dissents in the recent 5-4 #SCOTUS decision forcing $2 billion in #USAID bills to be paid over Trump's objections were more reasonable than appear at first glance.

Specifically the reason for dissent wasn't that the courts should force the government to pay its bills, it was that only ~$300 million or so worth of bills were actually being litigated, so a lot of the dissent was more "how can a court force the government to redress the grievances of people not even involved in the lawsuit" instead of "how can the court force the government to do anything".

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/03/supreme-court-denies-trump-request-to-block-2-billion-foreign-aid-payment/

#USpol

"I find it odious when the world’s richest man cackles about #America shoving programs for needy children “into the wood chipper.”

When you meet those dying #children and look into their eyes and hold their hands and feel faint heartbeats flutter, you can’t bear the gleeful laughter. You see children just like your own and hang your head in shame."

#GiftArticle #GiftLink
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E4.H8Lx.GD39rucUfloD&smid=url-share

#ElonMusk #Musk #Corruption #Coup #Cruelty #Trump #GOP #Politics #USPol #USAID #News #US #USA

" #USAID was established to advance our national interests as well as our values, & its demolition means that the #UnitedStates loses soft power & #China gains...

#America spends just 0.24% of gross national income on humanitarian aid. We properly honor a firefighter who saves a single child, but three cheers for us as taxpayers for rescuing millions of #children around the world from AIDS, starvation & disease.

That is, until January."
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E4.H8Lx.GD39rucUfloD&smid=url-share

#Musk #Doge #Trump #USPol #News

Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut.
That Isn’t True.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E4.H8Lx.GD39rucUfloD&smid=url-share

“No one has died as a result of a brief pause to do a sanity check on foreign aid funding,” #ElonMusk said. “No one.”

That is not true... the efforts by #Musk & #Trump are already leading children to die...

Peter Donde was a 10-year-old..
Achol Deng, an 8-year-old girl...
Inyaa, a 35-year-old single mom, and her 5-year-old son, Evan Anzoo...
[and more]"

#Doge #Death #USAID #Politics #USPol #News #US #USA

Making DOGE Cuts Permanent Is Easier Said Than Done

Plus: #GOP town halls are scarce these days.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/making-doge-cuts-permanent-congress-funding-shutdown

"The prospect of ending these far-reaching programs—like #PEPFAR and, on a much larger scale, the foreign aid administered by the #USAID—remains distant. Beyond that, #DOGE ’s haphazard cuts are difficult to codify because they have a weak legal foundation & are hard to explain, let alone justify (hence the repeat un-firings)."

#Musk #Coup #Corruption #USPol #News #USA #US

JDPON Don dismantling USAID will unironically enable socialist revolutions to start popping up throughout the global south. I’m not sure where or how, but I fully expect at least one to happen in a South American, African, South Asian, or Pacific Island nation within the next five years.

Any socialist movement in the global south: There has never been a better time than today. America isn’t paying attention anymore. Do it!

#usaid #socialism #politics

There's talk of DOGE here, but none about the destruction of information about the US government's funding of #destabilization ops, including perhaps details of the agency funding contractors sending Kosovo KLA mercenaries to Haiti, as reported by Black Agenda Report a few days ago.

"#USAID order to delete (ie, destroy) classified records sparks flurry of litigation"
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5191064-usaids-document-destruction

National Security Archive take: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/2025-03-12/dont-shred-me-usaid-documents-destruction-breaks-law-according-national-security

#USAID employees told to burn or shred classified documents
An organization representing foreign service workers said it was "alarmed" by the directive because there could be documents "relevant to ongoing litigation."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/usaid-employees-told-burn-shred-classified-documents-rcna195853

‘Ongoing destruction of #evidence’: #Trump admin shredding and burning ‘classified’ #USAID docs with info that’s ‘essential’ for rehiring unlawfully fired #workers, #unions say
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/ongoing-destruction-of-evidence-trump-admin-shredding-and-burning-classified-usaid-docs-with-info-thats-essential-for-rehiring-unlawfully-fired-workers-unions-say/

Farmers ruined by Musk killing USAID
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29fc3a95e8fa4407a96507cc5720609c

"USAID bought $2 billion a year of rice, wheat, lentils, and peas from American farmers. - Civil Eats

Click to see where farmers are getting ruined by MAGA policies and the local political rep to hold accountable."

[It's an interactive map.]

#ElonMusk #Musk #Coup #Doge #Corruption #Trump #GOP #USPol #USPolitics #USAID #Farmers #Food #US #USA #Maps

#TheGremlinZoo #USPol #USAID #USArchives #rebellion

From AP.com: Court asked to intervene after email tells USAID workers to destroy classified documents

https://apnews.com/article/usaid-trump-burn-order-shred-classified-documents-f042a51c0a9f74c96b0259b51a0d4a83